Starr resigns as MSU’s volleyball coach

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - After six seasons leading the Cowgirls, Dale Starr is moving on.

McNeese State's head volleyball coach has resigned. He will now take over as the new head coach at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.

When 7Sports tried to contact Starr for an on-camera interview, we were unsuccessful. Not because Starr wasn't available, but because the now former Cowgirls' coach had already left for Pennsylvania to start his new job.

I was able to get a phone interview with Starr to talk about his leaving MSU. He says he's leaving McNeese State amicably and on good terms. Starr also said the biggest reason for leaving was because of family reasons. He says he believes the job at Robert Morris gives his family better career and educational opportunities. Starr also says telling his players he was leaving wasn't an easy task.

"That was one of the most difficult things that I had to do was to look those kids in the eye and tell them I'm moving on," Starr said. "At the end of the day, it's a better opportunity for my family. And that's the team that I have to take care of first and foremost is my family."

Starr also said while his family was the most important reason for leaving, the budgetary and monetary issues at McNeese State also were a factor in him deciding to leave.

"I will be honest. The budget cuts that McNeese is going through and the state is going through, it's frustrating for all of the coaches there," Starr said. "It's frustrating to have to be, not hands tied, but we're bound by some things that are our of our control and that's a frustrating thing to try to do, especially when we all have to compete against the state of Texas and those types of things that aren't seeing any budget cuts."

When asked to compare MSU and Robert Morris from a volleyball standpoint, Starr talked more about the monetary differences he says he's noticed between the two schools.

"I don't think it's a better volleyball program per se, if you compare them apples to apples," Starr said. "But I think within the conference, there's not this huge disparity that there is in the Southland Conference. And there is a huge disparity in the Southland Conference when you take teams like Texas State, (UT)-Arlington, and UTSA (UT-San Antonio) and compare them to Nicholls (State), Southeastern (Louisiana), Northwestern (State), and McNeese (State), there's a big monetary discrepancy. And I think that puts you at an automatic disadvantage."